TCA: DirecTV To Launch Pivot TV App

Beverly Hills -- DirecTV will be the first distributor to make the live feed of upstart cable network Pivot TV available on the web and other alternative platforms, according to network president Evan Shapiro during the network's Television Critics Association summer press tour presentation.

The millennials-targeted network, owned by Participant Media, is scheduled to launch Aug. 1 in front of 40 million subscribers, according to network officials.  The Pivot Tv Everywhere app, available Thursday in the iTunes Store, will allow authenticated subscribers to watch the service live on computers, iPhones and tablets, as well as access network programming on demand, according to network officials.

According to Shapiro, in coming months broadband-only subscribers will also be able to get Pivot through the PivotTVApp via their Broadband provider for a small monthly fee. The offering will include a live feed of Pivot, as well as programming on demand, on any device, anywhere.

Shapiro said the network will offer more than 300 hours of original programming over the next year targeted to 15 to 34 year old viewers. The network will offer such original shows as late night series TakePart Live -- co-hosted by HuffPost Live's Jacob Soboroff and The Young Turks' Carea Santa Maria; variety show HitRECord on TV!; docu-talk series Raising McCain; and reality series Jersey Strong.

The network will also luanch a scripted series, Please Like Me, which will launch Aug. 1 with a marathon of all six shows beginning at 8 p.m., said Shapiro. He added the network has already greenlit a 10-episode second season of  the series.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.